


Harmony

by winterwhite



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, some references to human/organ trafficking but it is not a part of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 10:30:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8202137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterwhite/pseuds/winterwhite
Summary: AU: Hanzo and Genji are both disowned thanks to The Dragon Incident through much of the castle. They go to Blackwatch. They meet Jesse. Featuring Dad!Reyes and many small difficulties.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I love smooth, suave Hanzo, but I figure it took a while for him to get that polished.

Reyes does not like what he just saw.

The Shimadas, two boys with innocent smiles and five prosthetic limbs between them, are fine, as far as they go. Disowned for their dragons, their poor habits, and their inability to control both, they're in Overwatch custody because they asked for temporary asylum, and Blackwatch custody because they pointed out they were potentially quite valuable and deserved long-term shelter. Hanzo is a year older than Jesse. Genji is a year younger.

Jesse is fine, as far as he goes. A few months past eighteen, he's been in Reyes' pocket for two years, awaiting his turn to be dropped into the game. He's been soaking up his lessons, and he trusts Reyes enough that when the lessons get tough, (and they have, he's let Jesse cry himself to sleep on his shoulder once; he's getting soft) he'll just use them to harden himself, alchemizing Reyes' mentorship into a shell. And then he'll kill everyone Reyes needs him to! It'll be a beautiful thing.

It's the combination that worries him.

He glances at Jesse. Slow, sugar smile. Tanned face. Somehow rumpled even in casual black shirt and pants, oversized hoodie hanging off his bony shoulders. That goddamn hat on his head, because Reyes hasn't wanted to take his last bit of home before he's a grown man... and even at eighteen he's still lacking a certain maturity, an edge. All the dangerous qualities that Reyes approves of are well hidden. The Shimadas are nothing but edges, barely-hidden claws and armored scales. And they've both noticed Jesse's the youngest. They've both noticed his beam when he hears approval.

Genji's the one to move, while Hanzo hangs back looking aloof and disdainful. Genji shoves up against McCree, laughing at him, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he talks. Hanzo looks distant and huffy. But there's a long, sidelong look as Jesse flushes and flails to get Genji off. Trouble. Definite trouble.

Reyes sighs and heads for his office, pulling out his datapad. Time to put down some facts.

**

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Put your hoodie on the desk." Jesse does. "Check the pockets."

"Oh, fuck me."

"I guess Shimada wants a knife past the metal detectors," Gabriel says. "The ones that you don't have to go through, but he does. And he's watched you take the side gate. Hand it over." It's not a big blade, it's light, but it's thin and fine and terribly sharp. He walks it over his fingers and drops it by his letter opener. "They're going to go back to throwing them in the trees and climbing up to get them. This is technically part of a protected preserve. We're going to get another fucking letter from Jack about environmental damages."

"Can we still keep 'em if they're cuttin' up that bad?"

"You want to housebreak a dragon to a base, you put up with sharp things instead of puddles." Jesse stares. "Yes, that made more sense in my head, shut up. The point is, they're scared. They're scared of this, they're scared because they lost their family, they're scared of what I'm going to do with them, they're scared of my men, they're scared of me. The only goddamn person on the base they're not scared of is you," he smacks a hand on the flat of the knife, "and if you don't watch yourself they're going to drag you into something that gets you hurt."

"What can there be?"

"I'm glad you asked me that." Gabriel shoves his datapad over. "What do you make of these amounts?"

"They're all fucking huge," says Jesse.

"And the numbers by them? The percentages?"

"Pretty big."

"And the numbers for initial investment? Timeframes?"

"Low and short." Jesse is getting impatient. "What am I looking at?"  

"The first one is the amount you're worth," Gabriel says. "The second one's the rate of likelihood the Shimada can get what they need to pacify you, and the initial investment is what it will cost them. The time frame is how long to unload you. I gave it markets from three countries, although I should have stopped at two, because I don't think they can get you on all the routes without us catching wind of it. But I just wanted you to know."

"Numbers are pretty different."

Gabriel nods. "That's because they range from the slave trade to selling you for organs. Guess what? I based that off things the Shimadas have dabbled in or partnered with, in the past."

"So... what do you want me to do?"

"What you're doing," Gabriel says. "They need someone who doesn't scare them shitless. So don't make them respect you yet. Keep up your damn niceness and your... whatever." He waves a hand. "But keep your goddamn eyes open. Pay attention to how they look at you. Don't let your guard down."

Jesse casts another look over the amounts. "Can do."

"Jesse." He waits until Jesse's looking him in the eye. "Sometimes I do take a few steps to try to scare sense into you. Not this time, not when you don't speak the local languages, not when there's two of them, one of you. Not when I fucking know you like to slip off the base, like you're some dumbass new recruit, instead of an asset I'm investing my time in. All they need to escape and go on the run is a little nest egg. I think you're getting complacent? I'm asking you to get a tracker under your skin."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

**

Hanzo finds this all very offensive. The spartan accomodations, the noise of the barracks, the crowded base, the crudeness of the training grounds, the obnoxious sun-dusted smile of Jesse... whatever his last name is, Hanzo cannot pronounce the barbaric syllables in a way that doesn't make Jesse smile like an idiot, and has stopped trying.

He walks into the kitchen. It is half mass production, and half little jury-rigged one-person cooking space. Jesse is cooking stir fry. It smells like home. He glances up and gets a second plate down.

Hanzo leaves. Jesse is too idiotically not-ugly to be tolerated right now. Behind him, Jesse shrugs and puts the plate back up.

**

He is watching Jesse on the practice grounds when Genji grins and elbows him.

_"What?"_

_"And I thought I would be the playboy!"_

Hanzo feels his face grow hot. Genji laughs at him. _"He is not like anyone else here. I cannot decide why he is here. Is there something unique about him? Does he have dragons, too?"_

On the practice grounds, Jesse fails to get his foot out of the netting and falls on his face in the dirt.

 _"No,"_ says Genji simply.

_"Did you get your knife back?"_

_"He must have found it. But he didn't say anything. Maybe he has depths, eh? Must be seeing something in him that I don't, to be watching him."_

Hanzo snorts.  _"Nothing worth mentioning."_

**

Hanzo hears Jesse and Genji talking about guests and hosts. Jesse seems to be very proud of showing them around the pathetic base, so Hanzo gets him the gift simply to put him in his place. He does not account for Jesse looking up customs and getting him a gift.

"Thanks!" Jesse says, after unwrapping his. "I was sure runnin' low in my shavin' kit." He tosses the soap up and catches it. "How d'you like yours?"

"It is nice," Hanzo says stiffly. It is a waterproof bag to carry his toothbrush and washing things. It is thoughtful, and similar to what he got Jesse while still being a thousand times better. It is okay, besides the part where it is _not_ because it has left him in the distance. "Thank you."

He does not tell Genji.

**

Jesse is still trying new recipes in the kitchen. It is clear that he has no taste for Japanese food and little practice in cooking, but he will not let Hanzo cook. "I'm supposed to be learnin' new things," he says.

Hanzo eats with him, to be polite. His cooking is okay.

**

"Have fun training with McCree, brother!" Genji has been practicing: he spits out the strange syllables with staccato fluency. It is not the way Jesse says his name, but it is closer than Hanzo has attained.

"Why would I train with McCree?" he asks haughtily.

"Because we _were_ partnered up on the new exercise, but you were partnered with that interesting Russian lady and I wanted to talk to her. So I made a little correction. Have fun!"

**

Reyes looks across the practice grounds and sees a complication. Hanzo has gotten his clothes tangled up in one of the splintery obstacles. He has a prosthetic foot on Jesse's shoulder, and Jesse, his face kindness and concern, is helping to free him. His hands are slow and careful, and Shimada is not rebuffing him as quickly and hard as expected.

Well, it means that Jesse's less likely to be shipped across the border in many different ice-packed crates. He's going to get his heart broken, but it's not like Reyes can protect him from adolescence.

Dumbass.

He wonders if Hanzo or Jesse made the edit. Probably Hanzo; Jesse knows what happens if he gets caught pulling a stunt like that.

He sends Jesse a schedule note re: trackers, because he's been wrong before. Jesse has clearly gone overboard on the "be nice" part of his orders, but just might have forgotten what "defenses" are. The medic reports that Jesse comes and gets it promptly. Reyes puts a note on his calendar to get it taken back out again when enough time has passed. Doesn't do to make them feel like they've got no privacy.

**

Hanzo is off balance and on the back foot. Jesse is charming; Hanzo's stiffness and spines don't stand up to it well, not when Jesse was so kind about his terrible gift and so easygoing during training.

He needs a small gift to show that he does respect Jesse's interests. So the next time a group goes off base and he is allowed to go, he thinks about what he knows about Jesse as he browses the shops. He finds himself in the ones that trade in Japanese goods -

Ah. He has not seen Jesse use chopsticks yet, but he thinks that a likely next step given what Jesse has said, given the fact that he cooks the food every day. Chopstick etiquette is very difficult for guests to learn, and a holder will be very helpful. Hanzo buys light blue paper and wraps the small thing. It is little enough to be a random gift that Jesse will not think much of, but useful enough that he will remember the kindness.

"It is just a small thing," he says modestly when he gives it.

Jesse starts to take it with one hand, but remembers to bring the other up just in time. "Thanks! Shit, you done caught me flat-footed this time," Jesse says, as they walk towards the kitchen. "I didn't you no - anything." He can tell when he has pleased Jesse because the boy's English suddenly becomes worse. He leans his hip against the counter as he unwraps it. Hanzo gets tea out, suddenly feeling oddly shy. Genji comes in, and he steps away to talk to him, not wanting his brother's attention on the gift.

The kitchen smells spicy when he turns around. "What is that?"

"Oh, you put it right out of my head," Jesse says. "I'm doin' Indian this week. Reyes' idea, havin' me get used to foods from all over the place, learn to cook with local ingredients, all that shit. I meant to tell you if you wanted stir fry, I put some fish aside to marinate."

"Oh," Hanzo says.

"What is this, anyway?" Jesse picks up the little chopsticks holder.

"It is a holder," Hanzo says. "For... whatever you want it for."

"Thanks," Jesse says, "that's real nice of you. Looks the right size for cigarettes, if I can get 'em past Reyes."

"You are welcome," says Hanzo.

"You leavin' already?"

"I was waiting for the range to clear," Hanzo says. "I will shoot for a while."

Genji throws himself on Hanzo's shoulder later to yammer about some news, and blinks when he is shoved into the dirt. Reyes puts them on range-cleaning duty for fighting.

**

"I noticed you're spending a lot of time with my trainee."

Hanzo glances up. Reyes is assessing the damage done to a practice drone. It looks beyond repair to Hanzo. He is surprised Reyes is bothering at all. "McCree?" That gets a second, sideways glance. Fuck, he should have practiced, he sounds like it's the first time he's heard the name.

"Yeah, that's the one." Reyes rolls the drone over. It's shaped more or less like a human, with a narrow, long torso and heavy arms and legs. "You know how we got him, right?"

"He said he was with a gang."

Reyes snorts. "He was. Little punk shot at me when I pulled him out of there. He's an ingrate, but he's earned his place here, and we all look out for him." He snaps off one of the droid's arms with a sudden wrench.

"If he shot at you, why did you let him in?"

"Because he had a lot of potential that was going to waste. He'll pay me back. He's loyal to his friends." The other arm tears off. "Expects shitty treatment, too." He gathers them both in one fist. "Hard to watch that sometimes." Hanzo is opening his mouth to answer when Reyes spears both arms into the droid's crotch hard enough to drive the ends up to its neck. He folds its legs up, crushes them into its shell, grabs the edges, and rolls them in. Small pieces fly, and Hanzo ducks and covers his head. Metal is shrieking in agony. Hanzo could not have bent it like that without some kind of mechanical press. "Anyway, you're cleared to leave the base on day trips with just one person now. McCree was talking about taking you to see something, I don't know what. Have fun."

Hanzo nods. Reyes scoops up the wrecked shell and takes it with him, trailing sparks and bits of mechanical fluid.

**

McCree takes him to a movie, and buys them drinks and popcorn while Hanzo is still distracted by the posters and trying to decide what he wants.

Hanzo feels that Genji, with all his stupid, time-wasting pursuits of both sexes, has prepared himself much better for some things.

The movie is okay. The soundtrack is okay; there is a lot of music that Jesse tells him later is one person playing a harmonica. It sounds quite pretty.

Jesse's laughter is okay.

**

He has a sinking feeling that Jesse is giving him a gift. He must do better this time; he must do right.

He finds it in a pawnshop. It is a knife sheath, covered in beadwork, like the pattern around the Southwestern poster Jesse hangs over his cot in the barracks. Is it a little old, a little worn, somewhat battered, but Jesse seems to like old-fashioned things and it is somehow a very Jesse thing. He buys it.

"Thought he was going to get rid of that thing," says the Russian lady that Genji finds so interesting.

"Pardon?" he looks up from the wrapping paper. The edges have stuck together.

"That's McCree's old sheath, right? He said he was tired of having it take up space."

Hanzo nods and pitches it in the trash when she leaves.

Jesse has given him a nicely carved harmonica. It is okay. He goes off by himself and swears for a long time. 

**

 _"So you really like him,"_ Genji says.

_"Shut up, brother."_

_"You are not just messing with him, or appeasing that maniac who is in charge. You actually like him."_

Hanzo sighs and goes to the training grounds.

The training grounds have been opened further; as Genji and Hanzo are trusted more, they are allowed more leeway. They can now climb the cliff toward the communications tower, which Reyes didn't even want them looking at early on.

McCree is wearing a safety harness and ropes, and makes a distressing little grunt noise every time he slips and bashes himself against the rocky cliff. That is often. Hanzo amuses himself by climbing rings around him. He is not just showing off. Climbing a new cliff is like a meditation: the space around him shrinks only to the nearest handhold, the rest of the world goes away as Hanzo finds paths. McCree struggles up. He struggles down.

Hanzo is right next to him when he slips, and unhesitatingly, he braces himself and throws an arm around McCree to spare him the jolt of the harness and the bash against the rocks. He catches them both easily, and feels a little surge of pride before his field of view widens and he realizes there is a lot of green around them. The bushes. Jesse's feet hang two inches off the ground.

Hanzo sighs and lets go. Jesse claps him on the shoulder. Hanzo hops off. When he looks around, Reyes is facing in another direction. Hanzo watches him very carefully, but he cannot tell if the tightness in his shoulders is a restrained laugh, or his usual annoyance with the world.

**

Hanzo gets Jesse a candy that makes Jesse's face get red and blotchy. Jesse gives him a single stone arrowhead. It is okay.

**

Enough of this. He will take Jesse to the festival. He sets it up days in advance, makes sure their curfew is pushed back by turning in the appropriate paperwork for them both, endures Genji's taunts, and asks Jesse well ahead of time. When they leave, Reyes is sitting by the door, cleaning a shotgun. He doesn't look up. Hanzo knows he cleans the damn shotguns frequently, but he still feels as if something is crawling down his spine.

Jesse appropriates cotton candy. He sees a bear in a cowboy hat and lights up. Hanzo goes up to the game with him, but Jesse has already put a ticket down and picked up the gun. Three shots later, he beams, dropping the bear into Hanzo's arms. "...why so sour?"

"You are always giving me things," Hanzo admits, leading him down the path to the river. "You are good at gifts. I have not been."

"Shit," Jesse says, "nobody has ever taken me to a fair before." He is looking at Hanzo as if he achieved something great. His eyes are wide, and his hand is warm when he claps Hanzo's arm.

Hanzo kisses him. Jesse's mouth is sticky-sweet from cotton candy. Hanzo does not like cotton candy.

This time, it is okay.


End file.
